Often time, it is desired to locate a specific spot under the human skin which is covered by said skin. For example, often in the medical profession drug releasing devices are placed underneath a patient's skin. These devices release medicine at a predetermined rate thereby maintaining a constant level of medicine in the patient's body without the need for frequent injections or infusions of food. However, periodically the medicines within the drug releasing devices must be replenished which requires the use of a syringe puncturing the skin and injecting the medicine into the drug releasing device. However, because the device is buried beneath the skin, often the wielder of the syringe has a difficult time locating the precise spot to puncture.
Thus, there is a need for a device to precisely locate a spot hidden beneath a surface.
Inamed Corporation has developed a tissue expanding system for cosmetic surgery in which employs a high gauss level magnet that is mounted on a gimbal outside a patient's skin. The device is used to detect another high gauss magnet located at the bottom of a dispensing chamber implanted under the skin. The implanted magnet may cause a disruption in the operation of nearby electronic or electrically operated medical devices. In addition, due to its size and complexity, this gimbal mounted magnet is expensive. Further, this device must be sterilized prior to each use.
To use, the gimbal mounted magnet is moved in about above the skin approximately where the implanted magnet is located. This scanning is a necessary part of the process since all implanted devices shift position underneath the skin. Thus, the exact location must be determined before each injection.
When the implanted magnet is detected, a mark is made with a medical marking pen on the skin. The procedure is repeated several times thereby resulting in a plurality of marks on the skin in a group. A syringe is injected into the center of the grouped markings through the skin and into the dispensing chamber. Resistance to the syringe's movement is detected when contact is made with the implanted magnet at the bottom of the dispensing chamber. The contact may, in some instances, cause damage to the needle.
The Inamed Corporation's method and apparatus provides an approximate insertion point but does have a margin of error and is time consuming.
Thus, none of the known prior art disclose the combination set forth herein.